By Sudhakar Raja
Picture this: you’re scrolling through a job board, when suddenly, there it is – the perfect job posting! The pay is unreal, the perks are outrageous, and it’s all too good to be true. Well, guess what? It probably is! Job scammers are masters of disguise, crafting enticing but phony opportunities to lure you in. From fake job postings to pyramid schemes and phishing attempts, these scammers will stop at nothing to trick you into handing over your hard-earned money or personal information. Typically, these scams will start with the offer of a great job and quickly progress to trying to make you pay to access the said job.
It is easy to see that there has been a disproportionate increase in the number of job scams in the recent past. With a constantly evolving job landscape this is nothing to be shocked about. Scamsters as always are becoming the early adopters of leading-edge technologies and directing their best efforts to quickly make use of the teething period that people and organizations go through. They design cunning schemes to prey on unsuspecting applicants, leaving them with dashed hopes and bruised egos. They also ruin years and years of brand value every time the name of a company is involved in a scam. As more and more companies adopt technologies and platform services for their hiring processes, job seekers are forced to onboard all of these platforms en masse. Stopping online job scams is a herculean task which cannot be achieved fully unless companies and job platforms start taking action.
As of today, most job platforms and companies see it as the responsibility of the individual to make sure that they are not scammed. They issue warnings and put out posts and videos telling job seekers how to not fall for the common scams that they are aware of. Companies are yet to realize that these scamsters may not be their employees but are still impersonating their employees. The risks of these actions are a result of the inability to verify the authenticity of the person claiming to be from a certain organization. Job boards do not even engage in the simplest of checks to ensure that job posters are authentic. Basic background checks need to be done before allowing job posts to be added to the platform. These job posters also have access to the profiles and PII of many individuals who apply to such scam posts. Unless companies and job platforms take up the responsibility of helping job seekers verify those who reach out to them as employees, they will continue to struggle against such scamsters.
The best scammers in today’s world have managed to recruit AI to become a part of their operation, improving their language and the quality of fake job postings being made. They use AI to craft authentic-sounding emails, chat messages, and even create bogus company websites, making it harder than ever to spot their deceitful tactics. Deep fake tech can now be used to change the faces of people over video. This allows scamsters to create authentic video interview experiences while impersonating the actual recruiter in real-time.
Developers on the other side have been busy training AI models to recognize patterns and characteristics of job scams. These AI algorithms can sift through mountains of job data to detect red flags that raise suspicion. They can learn from historical scam data and keep getting smarter at spotting scams in real-time including AI-generated or AI-assisted scams. Other than training individuals to evaluate and ensuring that they are not stepping into scams, AI seems to be the only hope that we are left with to really change the way this market operates.
As AI continues to evolve, it can detect common elements of job scams, such as unrealistic pay scales, vague job descriptions, and suspicious URLs. As AI becomes more prevalent in job scam detection we can establish collaborations between industry stakeholders, cybersecurity experts, and AI developers to share information on emerging scam techniques. Data-sharing initiatives can lead to a collective effort to stay ahead of evolving scam tactics.
AI algorithms should be developed with a strong focus on fairness to avoid potential biases that could adversely impact certain groups of job seekers. To achieve high accuracy, AI models may err on the side of caution, resulting in some legitimate job postings being flagged as potential scams. Striking a balance between sensitivity and specificity is crucial to minimize false positives.
But let’s not get too carried away with our hopes; AI is not a magical genie that can solve all our problems. In the battle against job scams, AI may emerge as a stalwart defender of job seekers, sniffing out scammers with remarkable precision. But as AI-powered scams become more sophisticated, the question remains: can AI keep up with the cunning tactics of its own kind? It’s a case of AI versus AI, a technological battle royale!
While AI has proven itself as a formidable ally, we can’t help but wonder if it will ever truly outsmart AI-generated scams. It’s like a game of cat and mouse between AI-powered scam detection systems and the scammers themselves. Just when one side thinks they’ve got the upper hand, the other comes up with a craftier trick. One thing’s for sure – with the continuous evolution of AI technology, the odds are in favour of job seekers. As we embrace AI’s role in the job market, let’s not forget the importance of staying informed and remaining cautious. And so, the battle rages on, as AI and job seekers unite in their quest for a scam-free job-hunting experience.
The author is founder, CEO, TRST Score